Woods Fuller Shareholder Featured in “Probate & Property” Magazine
Jordan D. Veurink, Shareholder at Woods Fuller, recently co-authored an article featured in “Probate & Property” Magazine - a national publication put out by the American Bar Association.
Veurink practices in the areas of Business and Corporate Transactions as well as Estate Planning and Trust Law.
Directions to Trust Directors of Directed Trusts *
By Michael A. Sneeringer and Jordan D. Veurink
If you are reading this article, you have probably read the words “directed trusts” before. Directed trusts have gained in popularity over the past decade. For years, many states have allowed a person or entity, other than the trustee, a power over some aspect of a trust’s administration. Such person or entity has been termed a “trust protector,” “trust advisor,” or “trust director".” So-called directed trusts sprang up almost overnight. Some states had more statutory guidance than others concerning the powers and duties of a trust protector of a directed trust. For corporate fiduciaries declining trusteeship of a trust because of assets it does not want to manage, such as real estate, a closely held business, or a large stock concentration, a directed trust joins the trust creator-client, desiring a corporate fiduciary, with a corporate fiduciary, desiring trusteeship and continuing client contact.
Florida had a limited version of a statute on its books related to “directed trusts,” but up until 2021 the statute offered minimal guidance to attorneys and clients alike. Further, few Florida cases offered clarity on directed trusts. Some Florida clients designated trust protectors in their trusts but could never articulate their powers. Further, often the designated trust protector was the client’s attorney. How many of those attorneys are still practicing in 2022?
*Published in “Probate & Property,” Volume 36, No 3 (C) 2022 by the American Bar Association
